DA is a technique used in manufacturing and assembly environments whereby key alignment features such as holes are used to index parts and assemblies relative to each other. DA holes can be precisely positioned and sized for use as fastener locations. DA holes can also be used to locate parts and assemblies in a manner that minimizes variation through the use of geometric dimensioning and tolerancing. DA is especially useful for assembling large parts or assemblies together. One benefit of DA is that it can eliminate the need for certain assembly tooling and thereby reduce design and manufacturing costs. Accordingly, DA manufacturing techniques are embraced by the management philosophy known as “lean manufacturing,” one of the core principles of which is a focus on reduction of waste in manufacturing. Growing in popularity as a result of its success in some international manufacturing companies, lean manufacturing teaches minimizing of waste and being flexible and open to change.
Successful assembly of parts by the process of DA depends on accurate initial placement of the alignment features. Conventionally, addition of DA features in a desired location on a part has been achieved, especially in existing parts that were originally designed without DA features, with the aid of special manufacturing tooling. The tooling has been used to accurately locate the features, but is often complicated and costly, as well as part-specific. For example, DA features can be located using a positioning and locating jig that is specifically configured and arranged to accommodate the size and shape of the given part. However, different jigs may be required to accommodate different parts. Additionally, much of the tooling requires frequent calibration to ensure its accuracy. Also, for machined parts, a machining program generally must be rewritten in order to add DA features. For these reasons, a substantial amount of the cost savings to be gained by DA in the assembly stages can be lost up front in creating the alignment features. Hence, there is a need for a simpler and less costly process of adding alignment features such as DA holes.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a system and method for locating and drilling DA holes quickly and accurately. In addition, it is desirable to have a system and method for adding DA holes to new and existing parts and assemblies without requiring the use of complicated tooling.